May - Maryland Automotive Modelers` Association

MAMA Sez!
Volume 18, Issue 9
This is the newsletter
of the Maryland
Automotive Modelers
Association
Five-Finger Discount!
1
Poncho Trifecta?
2
Aug Memorial
3
Chevy Indy Pacer
3
Model Buffet
4
High-Priced Diecast
5
Low-Priced Diecasts
6
T ‘n T
7
Events
11
2005 Meeting Schedule
Meetings are scheduled for
the third Saturday of the
month (unless noted otherwise).
Do NOT assume meeting
dates—confirm them with a club
officer!
January 15th
February 19th
March 12th (2nd Saturday!)
April 16th
May 21st
June 18th
July 16th
August 20th
September 17th
October 15th
November 19th
December 17th
Inclement weather phone
number: (301) 474-5255.
May, 2005
Our NNL Show is History!
Last month’s meeting
was pretty well attended,
and provided entertainment in the form of an
animated discussion over
2006 NNL themes for
our show. When the dust
had settled, the themes
chosen by those in attendance were Convertibles
(top down!), and Hiboys
& Lowriders. And just so
you know, a Hiboy sits
ON the frame rails, and
does NOT have full fenders! So, be thinkin’ about
next year, OK?
This year’s NNL show
was apparently pretty
successful. See inside.
Keep it in the back of
your mind that we are
lookin’ to reprise our annual Club Auction, most
likely at the September
meeting. So, start rounding up those automotiverelated items that you
wish to donate to the
cause now, OK?
This month’s issue
draws a successful conclusion to the Station
Wagon Model Buffet
Five-Finger Discount!?
The following is a
small article that I
whipped up in the aftermath of a burglary of my
palatial Bowie estate for
another publication, and I
thought it would prove
helpful to enlighten at
least a few of you as to
the perils of keeping incomplete and/or nonexistent documentation on
your collections, whether
plastic or diecast.
The crooks gained access via a sliding glass
door, and before it was
over, managed to spirit
off nearly all of my
wife’s jewelry, change
collections belonging to
all of us, Nick’s entire
DVD movie collection
(80+ movies), his Playstation and game library
(30+ games), his brand
new PSP, our computer,
flat screen LCD moni-
column. Thanks, Matt!
We also have a Poncho
‘Triple Header’ from
yours truly, as well as an
article to protect yourself
and your growing collections.
My apologies, but the
raffle numbers were unavailable at press time.
Kudos to the following:
Irvin Arter Jr., Steve M.
Buter, Ron Bradley,
Harry Charon, Bob Foster, yours truly, and
Replicas & Miniatures
Company of MD.
tor, scanner/printer, and
about a dozen 1/18th
scale diecasts, among
them several GMP cars
(all discontinued!!). To
date, the county detectives actually recovered
the computer, monitor,
and scanner/printer, a
few of Nick’s movies and
a Playstation game, and
several of my diecasts
(thankfully, none of the
GMP cars, as the cars
recovered were chipped
and scratched!).
(Continued on page 10)
MAMA Sez is the official monthly publication of the Maryland Automotive Modelers Association. All rights reserved. Articles as
attributed by author and source, and may be reprinted with proper credit given. Options expressed are those of nobody of any importance. Any correspondence or contributions should be sent to: Timothy Sickle, 15905 Ark Court, Bowie, Maryland 20716.
Page 2
MAMA Sez!
Triple Threat Plastic Poncho Quickview!
[1972 Pontiac GTO Street Custom, RC2 #38162; 1/25th scale;
135 pieces; Lt. Gray, chrome,
clear/clear red, vinyl tires]
It’s kinda nice to see this one
back from its last stint as the red
street machine version shown
above. It is nearly identical, down
to and including the instructions
and decals! What follows then, are
my musings on this reissue.
Being an old reissue, it
obviously suffers some of the
foibles of older kits—front and
rear windows connected by
runners and metal axles, for
example. The front fender vents
seem to have been rescribed, and
for some reason, don’t look right
to me.
A very nice feature is the 23piece NHRA-style Christmas
tree! Chrome bulbs attach to the
gray plastic ‘trunk.’ They even
included the timing lights located
downtrack, making a scale
dragstrip diorama possible.
Sadly, the straight front axle is
incomplete.
[1963 Pontiac Tempest funny
car, RC2/Model King #21452P;
1/25th scale; 80+ pieces; Lt.
Gray, chrome, clear/clear red, vinyl tires]
As most of you know, Dave
Burket (a.k.a. Model King), has
been on a tear releasing vintage
AMT plastic. This tool was
incomplete, and Dave footed the
bill to complete it (hence the
slightly higher kit price).
It features an injected
‘Corporate’ big block engine
(read: Chevy!!). Even with Chevy
power and vintage two-piece
plastic tires, it is definitely worth
it, as they have included the
vintage ‘Funny Farmer’ decals! I
am even hearing rumblings about
an Arnie Beswick version of this
kit coming! Both are must-haves!
[1965 Pontiac Grand Prix, RC2
Buyer‘s Choice #38175; 1/25th
scale; 100+ pieces; Lt. Gray,
chrome, clear/clear red, vinyl
tires]
Here is another ‘Oldie but
Goodie,’ back on shelves—
Pontiac’s ‘sporty’ Grand Prix.
This one is cool for the Road &
Track accessories from the old
Prestige issue—the fifth wheel,
tape recorder, additional road test
gauges, and pylons.
This car features two options
that defined Pontiac—Wide
Track and tri-power! There is also
a ton of custom parts, with no less
than two different front and rear
end treatments. Add to this the
three different sets of rims—stock
8-lug, and optional Cragar S/S or
Corvette-style knockoff rims. On
the basis of sheer volume, this kit
is a gold mine!
It’s grrreat to have these kits
back at these relatively bargain
basement prices. Kudos to both
Dave Burket, and AMT/ERTL
for these “Blasts from the
Past!”Now, go out and scarf up a
few of ‘em!
Volume 18, Issue 9
May, 2005
Page 3
Chevy Indy Pacer News!
General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State, will
drive a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette
convertible pace car to lead the
field to the start of the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 on
May 29, 2005. Neither Powell nor
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
is a stranger to Corvette. For a record seventh time, Corvette will
pace the Indianapolis 500, and
Powell owns a 2005 Corvette
coupe. This race will be the track
debut of the sixth-generation Corvette convertible. It marks the
fourth consecutive year and 16th
time overall that a Chevrolet has
served as the official pace vehiclethe most appearances by any
brand.
Past Pacers!
Chevrolet has paced 15 previous Indy 500s, more than any
other brand:
• 2004—Corvette convertible
• 2003—Chevy SSR
• 2002—Corvette 50th Anniversary Edition
• 1999—Monte Carlo
• 1998—Corvette
• 1995—Corvette
• 1993—Camaro Z28
• 1990—Beretta
• 1986—Corvette
• 1982—Camaro Z28
• 1978—Corvette
• 1969—Camaro
• 1967—Camaro
• 1955—Bel Air
• 1948—Fleetmaster
“Gents, start yer Pace cars!”
The 2005 Corvette convertible
pace car features a “Victory Red”
paint treatment with a bright
“Machine Silver Metallic” primary stripe down the center
flanked by titanium and black
accent stripes.
The 2005 Indy
500 logo is on
each door and is
embroidered on
the headrests
while the Chevy
red racing Bowtie
appears at the top
of the hood.
The ‘05 Indy 500 pace car convertible accomMonogram kit to panied by six previous pacers: ‘04 convertible,
follow, hint,
‘02 50th Anniversary Edition, ‘98 coupe, ‘95
hint?
coupe, ‘86 coupe and ‘78 coupe.
Page 4
MAMA Sez!
Mid-Atlantic NNL Results!
Well gang, the early results are
in, and it appears as though we
had another successful show. We
were actually still selling vendor
tables on the morning of the show.
As far as models go, looks like
we had between 400 and 450
models on the display tables.
Vendor donations were down a
bit from yearts past, but several
MAMA’s BoyZ including but not
limited to Harold Bradford and
Norman Veber stepped up and
really put us over the top in this
category, to allow us to literally
give stuff away all day. Thanks to
everyone who contributed!
Now, without further ado, here
is the list of the lucky winners:
Competition—Jeff Sauber, ‘51
Pro Mod Merc
Curbside—Michael Hensley,
Phantom Panel
Custom—Rick Martin, ‘51 Chevy
Replica Stock—Marcos Cruz,
Corvette convertible
Street Machine—Jeff
Christopher, ‘65 Impala
Street Rod—Terry Adams, ‘40
Ford pickup
Truck/Light Commercial—Zoli
Honeczy, Seagrave Fire Truck
Gary Burkey Award—Tommy
Kortman, ‘32 Ford
People’s Choice Inline-powered
vehicle—Rick Martin, Renault
street rod
People’s Choice
Large
Musclecar—Terry
Adams, ‘63 Ford
People’s Choice
Junior—Ryder
Smith, Datsun 510
People’s Choice
Adult—Jeff
Sauber, ‘51 Pro
Mod Merc
There’s always
gonna be some
minor glitches to
overcome, but I
think that, for the most part, a
good time was had by all. We’ll
see about next year.
Now my job REALLY starts, to
match up builders and pictures,
and put some captions together
with the photos that our
photographers Tim Powers and
Ron Hamilton took. Gotta run,
but in the meantime, check out the
photo albums on the MAMA‘s
BoyZ website if you were unable
to make the show!
“Blast From the Past” Returns!
With the recent release of
this kit in the Model King
limited reissue program, the
‘mini-review’ elsewhere in
this issue, the new Arnie
Beswick Slixx decals at our
show, and my visit with Arnie (also last weekend!) at a
Pontiac event in Virginia, I
couldn’t resist ! Thanks to
Toups for the decal scoop
(Missed mine–drat!), and
thanks to Burket for the kit!
I gotta git dem decals!!
Volume 18, Issue 9
May, 2005
Model Buffet
We can hopefully finish up
with station wagons with this
month’s installment.
Jimmy Flintstone has a few
interesting wagon bodies/kits
available (most without chrome,
while some include pewter parts
to be polished).
Cadillac
1959 Superior Crown Royal
Hearse, Meteor hearse, and Hi-top
ambulance
Chevrolet
1960 Chevy wagon, and 1965
Chevelle wagon
Ford
1959 Ford Country sedan
Pontiac
1959 Bonneville ambulance
Miscellaneous
Extremeliner, and Frankenwoodiac
1960 Chevrolet Brookwood
1959 Ford Country Sedan
Extremeliner
Page 5
1990s Buick Roadmaster-
1960 Chrysler New Yorker
1959 Mercury Voyager
1973 Caprice
And last, but certainly not least,
we have our old friends at
Modelhaus (a.k.a. Don and
Carol). Modelhaus has a
somewhat limited selection of
resin ‘longroof sedans,’ but most
come as full kits, including
chrome AND tires! Without
further ado, here is what I believe
is available:
Buick
1990s Roadmaster
Chevrolet
1959 Brookwood, 1965, 1973,
and 1992 Caprices
Chrysler
1960 New Yorker
Dodge
1960 Polara
Ford
1957 Country Squire, 1959
Country Sedan
Mercury
1957 Voyager
Plymouth
1957 Suburban
1957 Plymouth Suburban
It is, as always, highly recommended that you double-check
price and availability on anything
in this column (don’t forget shipping and handling, too!) prior to
ordering.
A special thank you goes out to
Dave Lindsay at SocalCarCulture.com (http://socalcarculture.
com/) for some of these photos.
He has an awesome website—
check it out!
And let’s not forget Matt Guilfoyle, for his constant hard work
at bringing this column to the
membership. Gee, I can’t wait to
see what he has in store for us
next!! If you find something, send
it along to me!
Page 6
MAMA Sez!
High-Priced Diecast Mania
There doesn’t seem to have
been any reprieve in the release of
diecast cars. Anything from new
Hot Wheels to Danbury/Franklin
Mint quality. Here then, are some
of the latest and greatest:
Franklin Mint
(105 Commerce Drive, Aston, PA
19014, 1-888-771-MINT,
www.franklinmint.com)
1971 Plymouth Roadrunner—An
all-new tool in Curious Yellow w/
black stripes, powered by a 426
Hemi/4-speed combo, w/an Air
Grabber hood, and styled steel
road wheels. Limited to only
9,900 worldwide. Cost: $120, +
$7.95 S+H.
Danbury Mint
(47 Richards Avenue, Norwalk,
CT 06857, 1-888-854-7108)
1957 Yellow Chevy Pro Street
hardtop—An ‘Oldie but a
Goodie,’ this one was retired on
12/31/04.
1962 Roman Red Corvette—Also
retired as of 12/31/04.
1968 B-5 Blue Roadrunner—
Hemi/4-speed combo, w/a black
vinyl roof, dog dish hubcaps/steel
wheels, and redlines! Cost: $115,
+ $7.80 S+H.
1959 Persian Sand Eldorado
Biaritz—Limited edition (5,000).
Cost: $135, + $7.80 S+H.
1959 “Purple People Eater”
Corvette racer—Cost: $124, +
$7.80 S+H.
1958 “Christine“ Plymouth
Fury—Cost: $129, + $7.80 S+H.
Sinclair Gas Station display—
$139, + $7.80 S+H.
1948 Buick Roadmaster—
Available only by joining the
Classic Car Preview society. Cost:
$108, + $7.80 S+H.
1970 Silver LT-1 Corvette—
Removable T-tops, extendable
seat belts when seats tilt forward!
Cost: 115, + $7.80 S+H.
1969 Daytona Yellow ZL-1
Corvette—Black stripes. Cost:
$115, + $7.80 S+H.
1969 Firebird 400—Gold or
Beige. Opening console and gas
door (behind the license plate)
Rally IIs and redline tires. Cost:
$115, + $7.80 S+H.
1955 Ford Thunderbird—
Goldenrod Yellow, with a yellow
and black interior. A limited
edition available this year (2005)
only. Cost: $135, + 7.80 S+H).
1953 Cadillac Eldorado—1/16th
scale, white with a red interior,
this one also features a wooden
display base to show it off. To be
retired after 6/30/05. Cost: $199, +
$8.00 S+H.
Surf’s Up Shadowbox—a Beach
scene, complete with a 1/18th
scale 1957 Nomad. Cost: $114, +
$7.80 S+H.
1969 Dodge Daytona—Green
with white interior, equipped with
a 440 V-8/4-speed, Magnum 500
rims and whitwall tires. Cost:
$115, + $7.80 S + H)
Car Collectors Club
(11 Forest Parkway, Shelton, CT
06484)
(2) 1967 Olds 442s—A Gold
Metallic coupe and an Ebony
Black convertible w/red interior.
Cost: $99, + $7.80 S+H.
(2) 1964 Dodge 330s—
“Ramchargers” and “Color Me
Gone.” Cost: $119, + $7.80 S+H.
If any of these unbelievably
detailed diecasts float yer boat, I
wouldn’t wait too long to get ‘em
ordered—you won’t be
disappointed!
Volume 18, Issue 9
May, 2005
Page 7
Affordable Diecast Mania
How ‘bout some cheap diecasts—the 1/64th scale discount
chain version (i.e., Target, Toys
Backwards ‘R’ Us, and finally, the
‘Town Killer,’ Wal-Mart):
Johnny Lightning
Sixties Sizzle
Release 1: ‘66 Ford Bronco, ‘69
Barracuda, ‘68 L88 Corvette, ‘62
T-Bird Sports Roadster, ‘65 Buick
Riviera, and a ‘66 Olds Tornado.
Release 2: ‘63 Ford Galaxie, ‘69
Dodge Coronet, ‘68 Barracuda,
‘61 Continental, ‘66 Shelby
Mustang, and a ‘66 GTO.
HOT ROD Magazine 2
‘00 Mustang hardtop, ‘61
Ventura, ‘32 Ford Roadster, ‘71
Duster 340, ‘03 Monte Carlo Pace
car, and an ‘04 SSR.
Trucks & SUVs
‘05 Chevy, ‘66 Bronco, Jeep CJ5,
‘64 Ford Ranchero, ‘65 El
Camino, and a ‘65 Chevy
Fleetside pickup.
Musclecars V
Release 7: ‘70 Olds Rallye 350,
‘73 Grand Am, ‘67 Buick GS340,
‘70 Chevelle SS, ‘69 Dodge Dart,
and a ‘62 Bel Air.
Release 8: ‘62 Bel Air, ‘70
Superbird, ‘05 Mustang,, ‘67
Chevelle, ‘70 Superbee, and a ‘67
Charger.
Release 9: ‘66 Impala SS, ‘69
Coronet, ‘68 Barracuda, ‘61
Continental, ‘66 Shelby Mustang,
and a ‘66 Nova.
Classic Gold
Release 27: ‘60 Country Squire
wagon, ‘57 Studebaker Hawk, ‘68
Torino convertible, ‘65 Chevelle
wagon, ‘55 Bel Air, and a ‘60s
Shelby Cobra Daytona.
Release 28: ‘64 Ford sedan
delivery, ‘74 AMC Hornet, ‘05
Mustang, ‘71 Vega, ‘65 Chevy
pickup, and an ‘05 Ford GT.
Release 29: ‘70 Maverick, ‘62
Continental, ‘71 Cutlass, ‘65
Riviera, ‘60 Corvair, and a ‘72
AMC Gremlin.
Muscle Machines: Impala SS,
‘62 Catalina, ‘71 Camaro,
‘Bullet Nose Stude, a Corvair,
and a ‘69 Daytona!
Sixties Sizzle, Release 1
Classic Gold, Release 27
Musclecars V, Release 7
High Performance Pontiac, Release 1
Page 8
MAMA Sez!
making about 1,400hp.
tent on taking the showroom stock
Hopefully, it sells as good as it
B class from the Miata. Time will
runs…‘TIPSY?’ A Minnesota
tell as to whether or not they will
resident bought the personalized
Very sad news! It is my sad
be successful…P. Diddy Dubs!
plate ‘TIPSY’ for his Jeep as a
duty to inform you that modeling
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is joinway to describe its ride. As a joke
icon Augie Hiscano died on April ing forces in a 50-50 joint venture
(‘cause he likes to party!), he then
21, 2005, while preparing for
with Weld Wheel Industries, Inc.,
made the huge mistake of
Greater Salt Lake (GSLMCC)!!
a Kansas City mag wheel manudeciding to keep the plate for his
Thanks to Lyle Willits for the sad
facturer, to produce a new line of
Chevy Silverado. Why? ‘Cause it
news. Word is that Mark Gustavcustom aluminum rims for sport
may have tipped the cops off,
son is supposed to be doing some- trucks, luxury SUVs, and highcausing him to get pulled over
thing to honor Augie for the muend American– and German-made
recently after leaving a pub. And
seum. He was 71. You’ll be
cars. The new company, SJC
guess what? His blood-alcohol
missed, Augie!…Better News!
Wheels LLC will produce and sell
Barry Horner, a former MAMA’s “Sean John Wheels,” retailing for level registered TWICE the legal
limit! He now faces third degree
Boy who relocated to nearby PA,
between $700 and $3,000 each (!)
drunken driving charges. Doh!
recently underwent Quadruple
…C6-R Upgrade? It was recently
…“10 Bimmers to go, Please!”
Bypass surgery. Take it easy,
reported in the GTR Auto
That’s probably about what King
buddy!…“Let’s Go Racin’!”
Modelers newsletter that Scale
Mswati III of Swaziland must’ve
Mark Reuss, execuMotorsport will be
told his local BMW dealer. He
tive director of GM’s
collaborating with
recently ordered a new BMW
performance division,
Revell to issue an
says Pontiac’s plan
upgrade kit for the C6 sports car for each of his 10 wives,
at a cost of approximately
to keep Solstice sales
Corvette to convert it
$820,000. By the way, he did this
from faltering ininto a C6-R race car.
Racy Solstice?
AFTER buying himself a
volves goin’ racin’!
It is reportedly due
$500,000+ Maybach!! The
The low-slung car—the first fourout in the last quarter of this year.
Maybach is equipped with a TV,
cylinder, rear-wheel-drive twoThey also reported the rumor that
DVD player,
seater from GM—will be offered
Japanese kit
refrigerator, 21with a slew of factory-engineered
manufacturer Tamiya
speaker sound
performance engine and suspenmay produce a kit of
system, cordless
sion parts so weekend racers can
the Maserati MC12 in
phone, and sterlingcompete in Sports Car Club of
1/24th scale. It is not
silver champagne
America events against the Mazda known if it will be the
Even racier HHR?!
flutes! All this while
Miata. And there may be at least
race car or the street
his African subjects live on about
one other body style in the works
version…1400hp Chevy HHR?!
a buck a day. There oughta be a
for the Solstice. Reuss recently
The Chevy HHR has yet to hit
showed a picture of a car labeled
showrooms (and may not sell once law!…Happy Anniversary
Lambo? Celebrations got
the 2007 Solstice GT. The photo
there!), but GM has already
underway recently in Europe to
showed the car in coupe form
commissioned SoCal Speed Shop
celebrate the 40th Anniversary of
with a sloping, fixed roof, like the to build one to take to the
the Lamborghini Muira, the midAudi TT. He would not confirm
Bonneville Salt Flats in August,
engine supercar powered by a 3.9that the car is planned for producin hopes of running 250mph or
liter 350hp. V-12. The party is
tion. Reuss said he’s pushing for a more. The PT Cruiser-like vehicle
supposed to continue this summer
hardtop, either fixed or removwill have a whopping 7 inch top
during the Monterey/Pebble
able—a requirement before the
chop, and be powered by a singleSolstice can be raced. GM is inturbo Ecotec 4-cylinder engine,
This ’n That
(Continued on page 9)
Volume 18, Issue 9
May, 2005
T ’n T (contd)
(Continued from page 8)
Beach weekend, where it will be
one of the featured attractions at
the Concorso Itialiano…License
to Drive?! Recently, two tots,
ages 3 and 5, decided they wanted
to visit their grandfather. Mom
was too busy, so the boys got the
keys to the van from her purse,
and set out on their own! They
managed to go about 5 miles
before hitting a dirt pile. The boys
were uninjured, while the van
suffered a flat tire and minor body
damage. Man, I bet they’ll be on
restriction until they ARE old
enough to drive!…Maxed-Out
NSX! Honda’s flagship NSX-R
sports car gets a race car treatment and a price tag to match.
Due to the considerable changes to
this year’s Japan
Grand Touring
Championship
GT-500 NSX race
car, Honda had to
build five homologation NSX-R
GT road cars to satisfy rules set
by the governing body. A cool
$466,600 is the price tag for this
full carbon fiber-bodied road car,
which features longer front and
rear fascias and an F1-style scoop
to direct air to the mid-mounted
V6 engine. Production starts in
August and, sorry, all five cars are
already spoken for…Trouble at
American Hot Rods? California
hot rod builder Boyd Coddington
is the first big name to cop a plea
in a wide-ranging title-fraud investigation California prosecutors
and Coddington’s attorney say
Page 9
could involve 70,000 illegally registered vehicles. Coddington
pleaded no contest in April to a
misdemeanor charge
related to submitting
counterfeit vehicle
titles to the state Department of Motor
Vehicles. The star of
American Hot Rod on the Discovery Channel paid $3,000 restitution to the DMV and must perform 160 hours of community
service in the next year. His community service includes explaining to hot rod enthusiasts how to
correctly register their cars.
Authorities say custom car owners
use phony, out-of-state titles identifying cars as much older or less
expensive than they actually are.
This move allows owners to pay
lower registration fees and less
sales tax, and escape air pollution
regulations. Oops!
…“Mark of
Excellence?!” GM
is putting its corporate logo on the exterior of nearly all cars and trucks
it sells in North
America. The change
begins immediately
with Pontiac G6s
leaving the factory,
and will be added to
other vehicles when they are redesigned or as time permits tooling changes. Under that time
schedule, it could be some time
before the badge appears on Saab
vehicles. The next new Saab product, the 9-7x SUV, won’t have the
GM badge when it arrives in
showrooms late this summer. GM
says the move is an effort to get
consumers to draw a stronger connection between GM and its cars.
Many 2006 models will have a silver GM badge placed
on both sides of the
vehicle, somewhere
between the front and
rear wheels and below
the beltline. On cars,
the badge measures about an inch
square. On trucks and SUVs, the
badge measures about 1.2 inches
square. This is not the first time
the GM badge has been used on a
vehicle exterior. The EV1 electric
vehicle wore a GM badge on its
nose, even though leases were
handled by Saturn dealers. The
EV1 was leased from 1996
through 2001. Seems to me that
with GM’s bonds just being relegated to junk status at the beginning of May (due to lower sales
because of the amount of large
SUVs not selling at their stores!),
they would have MORE important things to worry about?!…
ANOTHER McLaren Supercar?
McLaren’s new 6.3-liter V8powered mid-engine supercar has
been granted a surprise reprieve,
despite partner Mercedes-Benz officially
severing ties with the
project earlier this
year. The new twoseater, codenamed P8,
is now being engineered exclusively by McLaren, which plans
to oversee remaining development
work before producing it alongside the front-engine Mercedes
SLR at its factory in England—all
with the blessing of M-B. News of
the P8’s resurrection comes after
recent comments from M-B boss
(Continued on page 12)
Page 10
Finger (contd)
(Continued from page 1)
I have put together some basic
guidelines on documenting your
collections for police and
insurance reporting purposes.
One of the first things you need
is an accurate listing of your
collection. This can be anything
from handwritten to computergenerated, i.e., using Excel or Access, or other specialized database
software available on the Internet.
My list includes the year, make
and model, stock number, color,
scale, number produced (if
known), and a column for any
special notes that I might wish to
add. The important thing about
this list is that if done on a
computer, store it on a floppy disk
or CD-ROM, in the event that the
invaders take your computer too
(as happened in my case).
When recording production run
numbers of limited diecasts (i.e.,
GMP), DO NOT simply note the
production run! It is very
important to make note of your
individual serial number. In other
words, your entry should read
‘418/3,000’ rather than
‘1/3,000’ (unless of course, you
MAMA Sez!
managed to get the first one!) This
is very important in identifying
your property if it is recovered.
If at all humanly possible,
maintain a file of the receipts in a
folder, and keep them in a secure
location. If you decide against
keeping receipts, at least record
the purchase price on your list.
You’ll never remember it later
(especially in my case, with
several hundred pieces in my
possession) when you need it to
file a claim. The insurance
company is gonna want proof of
purchase price in order to
compensate you for them.
Luckily, I had receipts for pricier
items taken. EBay and the
internet are assets to aid you in
establishing values for limited
and/or out of production pieces.
Something that I had also been
considering was to photograph
the entire collection, piece by
piece.
If you decide to do so, remove
the diecast from its packaging. In
most cases, this is possible with
larger pieces, but not so with
1/64th scale blisterpacks. Each
item should be photographed
separately, filling the frame as
much as possible with the item in
question, taking extreme care to
ensure the picture is focused. Or,
you may decide to document just
the limited serialized items. Only
you can decide what level of
protection that you need and are
comfortable with.
You can use either 35mm or
digital cameras to establish your
‘scrapbook.’ If you go digital, the
file name could be the stock
number (i.e., ‘GMP8044.jpg,’), or
even a description of the car (i.e.,
‘GMPatollbluejudge.jpg’). Again
however, whatever method you
utilize, remember to store these
pictures on a CD-ROM away
from the computer!
You should also probably consider a collection rider on your
homeowners’ insurance to cover
this eventuality. Just make sure it
is of sufficient value.
In this documentation process,
you also must have the discipline
to update it regularly as your collection changes.
I hope that this article opens a
few eyes before it is too late. If
you start this process in the wake
of a burglary, that is akin to closing the barn door after the horse
has escaped. So, if you have little
or no documentation on your collections, better get busy, ‘cause
crime doesn’t take a holiday!
Volume 18, Issue 9
May, 2005
May 14th to Oct. 8th–Flashlight
Drags, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on
St Rt 288, in Zelienople, PA.
Legal street racing, all street legal cars and trucks compete in
heads-up 1/8 format. Spectator
fee: $5, registration fee: $25.
Info: PO Box 119, Bradfordwoods, PA 15015, (412) 9738608, www.alteredgas.com,
[email protected].
May 19th to 22nd–Cruisin’
Ocean City car show, in Ocean
City, MD. Info: (410) 798-6304,
www.specialeventpro.com.
May 20th to 22nd–Great American Rod & Custom Nats, at the
Giant Center at Hershey Park,
Hershey, PA, featuring 3,000+
rods, customs, classics & trucks
through ‘72, commercial exhibits, swap meet and car corral.
Info: (925) 838-9876, www.
good-guys.com.
May 20th to 22nd–Import Kit/
Replicar Nats, at Carlisle, PA.
Info: Carlisle Productions, (717)
243-7855, www.carlisleevents.
com.
May 21st–Orphans in Alexandria Car Show, at The Lyceum,
201 S. Washington St., Alexandria, VA. Info: Jim Mackay,
Museum Director, 201 S. Washington St., Alexandria, VA
22314, (703) 838-4994, www.
alexandriahistory.org, jim.
[email protected].
May 25th–Mountain Motor
Nats at MIR in Budd’s Creek,
MD. Info: http://www.mirdrag.
com/
May 28th–5th Annual Children’s Miracle Network Car,
Page 11
Truck, and Bike show, from 9
a.m. to 6 p.m. at the fairgrounds, Airport Ave,
Fredericksburg, VA. Sponsored
by Food Lion, trophies to be
awarded to top 20 cars, trucks,
and bikes. Trophies for Best
Car, Truck, Bike; and Best of
Show. Bands, craft show, kids’
games and rides, clowns, barbecue, hamburgers & hotdogs and
pizza, Trophies awarded at 4 p.
m. Spectator fee: $8 per carload
at gate; registration fee: $12 per
car, truck, or bike. Info: Michael Kay, 5517 Cedar Ridge
Drive, Fredericksburg, VA,
22407-7700, [email protected].
mil or [email protected].
May 29th–IDRC East Coast Import Nats at MIR in Budd’s
Creek, MD. Info: http://www.
mirdrag.com/
June 3rd to 5th–All-Ford Nats,
at Carlisle, PA. Info: Carlisle
Productions, (717) 243-7855,
www.carlisleevents.com.
June 4th–Country Cruz-In car
show, at the Memorial Park in
Taneytown, MD, from 9 a.m. to
3 p.m., sponsored by Street Cars
of Desire. Funds raised benefit
the American Legion Post 120
Hesson-Snyder. The Children’s
Fund is used to send area kids to
camp, scholarships, and other
activities. DJ, food, games, dash
plaques & goody bags for the
first 100 registered; muffler rap
contest, 50/50, and silent auction. Spectators free, registration fee, $10. Info: Grant, 4054
Ruggles Rd, Taneytown, MD
21787, (410) 984-9143, [email protected].
June 11th & 12th–OC Car Show
2005, at the Convention Center
4001 Coastal Hwy , in Ocean
City, MD, from 10 a.m. to 10
p.m. Spectator fee: $15. Info:
Brian Stoehr, 1239 Bayville
Shores, Selbyville, DE 19975,
(302) 436-0183, www.
occarshow.com, [email protected].
June 10th to 12th–21st Annual
Toyo Tires NMRA Ford Motorsport Nats, at Maple Grove
Raceway, Reading, PA. Info:
http://www.
maplegroveraceway.com/
June 25th–Superchargers
Showdown at MIR in Budd’s
Creek, MD. Info: http://www.
mirdrag.com/
June 26th–Twenty-Eighth Annual Original British Car
Day, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
sponsored by The Chesapeake
Chapter of the New England
MG T Register at Lilypons
Gardens, Lilypons Road, off
Rt 85, in Buckeystown, MD.
500+ British cars in one setting. Spectator fee $5 per car,
registration fee $15 per car.
Info: John M. Tokar, PO Box
323, Monrovia, MD 21770,
(301) 831-5300, www.
chesapeakechaptermgtclub.
com, [email protected].
July 8th & 9th–4th Annual York
US30 Musclecar Madness, at
the York Expo Center at York
fairgrounds, in York, PA. Guest
stars will include Butch
“California Flash” Leal, and
Linda “Miss Hurst Golden
Shifter” Vaughn. Info: (717)
755-5849, www.yorkus30.com,
or [email protected].
July 8th to 10th–Cougar Nats
East car show, at Hyatt Fair
(Continued on page 12)
of the
This is the newsletter
Modelers
tive
omo
Aut
nd
ryla
Ma
Association
Chapter Contact:
Timothy Sickle
15905 Ark Court
Bowie, Maryland 20716
Phone: 301-249-3830
Email: [email protected]
MAMA’s BoyZ do it in scale!
“New” Stuff this month:
Revell Dodge Viper SRT-10
Revell Lowrider magazine ‘60
Impala hardtop
Revell Lowrider ‘92 T-Bird SC 3 ‘n 1
Revell Dick Landy Dart GTS w/figure
Revell C.S.I. Miami® Hummer® H2
(metal body)
Revell Miami Vice Daytona Spyder
Revell #17 LeMans Mustang GT350R (slot car)
Revell #61B Jerry Titus GT350-R
Mustang (slot car)
* Buyer’s Choice
T ‘n T (contd)
(Continued from page 9)
the AMG skunkworks. An offshoot of the 90-degree 5.4-liter
V8, both bore and stroke have
been increased to achieve the additional displacement. 500 hp is
the final result. Secrecy surrounds
the deal between McLaren and MB for development, production
and sale of the P8, though suggestions are Mercedes may be secretly funding the project in a bid
to avoid negative publicity over
the launch of a supercar at the
same time it tries to restructure
other aspects of its business
(Thanks to the Washington Times,
autoweek.com, and other Internet
sources for this insanity! Ya just
can’t make some of this stuff up!!)
Eckhard Cordes indicating the
Ferrari-fighting supercar had been
abandoned as part of a costcutting program that has the German manufacturer refocusing its
attention on core models to boost
profitability. Word is the P8,
originally intended to slot into the
Mercedes lineup between the
SL55 AMG and SLR, will now be
sold as a McLaren, like the company’s F1. Initial estimates put its
price around $200,000. McLaren
insiders confirm development
continues, but not at the original
pace. Though McLaren seems determined to go it alone, the P8 is
expected to use a lot of
standard M-B compoWe’re on the web!
http://www.toadmail.com/~mama/,
or
nents, including a
http://www.mamasboyz.org/
new 6.3-liter V8 from
Directions
(Continued from page 11)
Lakes, 12777 Fair Lakes Circle,
Fairfax, VA. Sponsored by Delmarva Cougar Club, featuring a
reunion of XR7-G and Dan
Gurney Special Cougars from
1967 and 1968, and 1967
Trans-Am racing Cougars. 16
judged classes for 1967-1973
Cougars, also 5 People’s Choice
classes and 1 display class.
Swap & vendor space available
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Registration fee: $25 preregistration before July 1st; $35
on or after. Info: Jim Karamanis, 11953 Shenandoah
Court, Woodbridge, VA 22192,
703-491-8710,
[email protected] www.
dcconline.org.
From the Baltimore Beltway
(RT 695): Take Exit 7, Route 295
(Baltimore-Washington Parkway)
south towards Washington approx.
18 miles to Route 193 (Greenbelt
Road), and exit. When on the offramp, stay to the right and merge
right onto Southway (see below).
From the Washington Beltway
(RT 495/95): Take Exit 22 north,
towards Baltimore. Stay in the
right lane and take the first exit
onto Route 193 (Greenbelt Road).
When on the off-ramp, bear to the
right and take Greenbelt road west,
towards College Park. Stay in the
right lane and immediately after
passing over the Parkway, make a
right (at the light) onto Southway
(read on!)
Once on Southway: Go straight
to the second (2nd) STOP sign.
Make a left onto Crescent road. Go
to the STOP sign and make a right
into the parking lot behind the
Greenbelt Library. Once in parking lot, look to the right. The large,
white building is the Greenbelt
Community Center. Enter building
using the doors near fenced tot lot.
The multi-purpose room is on the
second floor. There is an elevator
to the left of the entrance.